Past Symposia

The annual Sciences Student Research Symposium began in 2006.

2024

Flowing Futures: Sustaining Water for Generations to Come

The 18th Annual Hydrologic Sciences Student Symposium

April 11-12, 2024 in  S228 and online.

2024 Schedule

Present Your Research

The Symposium welcomes anyone interested in hydrologic sciences.

Questions? Email us at hydrosymposium@colorado.edu

Student abstracts were accepted from February 12 to April 5, 2024.

Invited Speakers

Keynote Address

Huilin Gao, Professor, Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University

Darcy Lecture

Matt Becker, Conrey Chair in Hydrogeology and Professor of Earth Sciences, California State University, Long Beach

Guest Speakers

Tanya Heikkila, CU Denver

Martin Hoerling,  NOAA

Keith Musselman, CU-Boulder

James Rattling Leaf, Sr., RL NC-CASC; CU-Boulder

Andrew Earles, Wright Water Engineers, Inc

Steering Committee

Tina Geller ATOC PhD

Nick Guthro CEAE PhD

Jo Martin GEOL PhD

Chris McNabb GEOG PhD

Parth Modi CEAE PhD

Santiago Ramirez Nuñez CEAE PhD

Prasad Thota CEAE PhD

Holly Barnard Hydrologic Sciences Program Co-director

Mike Gooseff Hydrologic Sciences Program Co-director

Sarah Rogers Hydrologic Sciences Program Coordinator

Hosted by

 - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research

Sponsors

ATOC - Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

CEAE - Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering

ENVS - Environmental Studies

GEOG - Geography

GEOL - Geological Sciences 

2023

The 17th Annual Hydrologic Sciences Symposium

From Source to Sink: Reimagining the Applied Hydrologic Sciences

April 12-13, 2023 in  S228 and online.

Who is invited?

The Symposium welcomes anyone interested in hydrologic sciences. 

Present Your Research

Student abstracts were accepted until April 8, 2023. Questions? Email us at hydrosymposium@colorado.edu

Keynote Address

  • Thomas Adams Senior Hydrometeorological Advisor at the United States Agency for International Development

The evolution of Hydrologic Forecasting — serendipity from failure and when things don’t quite work out

  • Alicia Wilson Professor of Hydrogeology in the School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of South Carolina

Please check your assumptions at the coastline: 15 years of wading through salt marshes

Guest Speakers

  • Mazdak Arabi One Water Solutions Institute, Colorado State University
  • Sharon Bywater-Reyes Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Northern Colorado

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Lessons Learned from Colorado River Restoration Projects

Impacts of innovative water security solutions on water literacy: A case-study from Aurora, Colorado

  • Michael Kerwin Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Denver

Mega-drought Demands Mega-changes: Can the Western USA Learn from South Africa’s Response to the Day Zero Drought?

The Co-evolution of Humans, Climate, Water, Earth and Biota: The Next Chapter?

Understanding the Wood Regime to Support Stream Management

Student Symposium Steering Committee

Hosted by

  •  - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 

Sponsors

  •  - Hydrologic Sciences and Water Resources Engineering Seminar Series
  • CEAE - Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering 
  • ENVS - Environmental Studies 
  • GEOG - Geography 
  • GEOL - Geological Sciences 

2022

The 16th Annual Symposium took place April 7-8, 2022 in SEEC and on Zoom.

 2022 Scedule

Keynote Speakers

Melisa Diaz Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Danica Schaffer-Smith  The Nature Conservancy and Arizona State University

Invited Speakers

Melissa Foster US Bureau of Reclamation

Adrienne Kroepsch Colorado School of Mines

Katherine Lininger Department of Geography, CU Boulder

Ben Livneh Department of Civil Engineering, CU Boulder

Nicole Rowan Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Sara Sanchez Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, CU Boulder

Vicki Scharnhorst Tetra Tech

Joel Sholtes Colorado Mesa University

Willem Vervoort School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney

Michelle Walvoord US Geologic Survey 

Steve Wondzell US Forest Service

Student Steering Committee

Hosted by

  •  - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 

Participating Units

  • CU Graduate School
  • ATOC - Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 
  • CEAE - Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering 
  • EBIO - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 
  • ENVS - Environmental Studies 
  • GEOG - Geography 

  • GEOL - Geological Sciences 

2021

The 15th Annual Symposium took place April 8-9, 2021 on Zoom.

Theme: IN HOT WATER: Climate Change and Water Resources

Keynote Speakers

Guest Speakers

Steering Committee

Hosted by

  • CWEST - Center for Water, Earth Science and Technology 
  •  - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 

Participating Units

  • CU Graduate School
  • ATOC - Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 
  • CEAE - Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering 
  • EBIO - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 
  • ENVS - Environmental Studies 
  • GEOG - Geography 
  • GEOL - Geological Sciences 

2020

cancelled (due to the COVID19 Pandemic)

2019

2019 Theme:The Power of Water

Location

SEEC Auditorium Room 120, CU Boulder East Campus

Abstracts

  • Submission opens 21 Feb, 2019.
  • Abstract deadline 22 Mar, 2019. 
  • Register and Submit Abstract Here
  • Email hydrogrd@colorado.edu for any questions or assistance

Keynote Speakers

  • Rosemary Carroll: Associate Professor of Hydrology, Desert Research Institute (DRI).
  • Irena Creed: Executive Director and Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan.
  • Matthew Rodell: Chief of Hydrologic Sciences, NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center.
  • Arash Zamyadi: Assistant Professor, Polytechnique Montréal, University of Montreal, Canada.

Invited Speakers

  • Lisa Dilling: Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of Western Water Assessment, .
  • Brian Ebel: Research Hydrologist, Water Mission Area, U.S. Geological Survey.
  • Douglas Kenney: Senior Research Associate, Getches-Wilkinson Natural Resources Law Center and Director of the Western Water Policy Program, .
  • John McCray: Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines.
  • Daniel McGrath: Assistant Professor of Geosciences, Colorado State University.
  • Donald Rosenberry: Research Hydrologist, Water Mission Area, U.S. Geological Survey.
  • Collette Wilfong: Environmental Education Intern, Geoscientist-in-Parks Program, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Hosted by

  • CWEST - Center for Water, Earth Science and Technology 
  • INSTAAR - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 

Participating Units

  • CU Graduate School
  • ATOC - Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 
  • CEAE - Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering 
  • EBIO - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 
  • ENVS - Environmental Studies 
  • GEOG - Geography 
  • GEOL - Geological Sciences 

2018
Hydrology Horizons:
Innovations in Water Science

Location

SEEC Auditorium Room 120, CU Boulder East Campus

Abstracts

  • Submission opens 19 Feb, 2018.
  • Abstract deadline 23 Mar, 2018. 
  • Email hydrogrd@colorado.edu for a link to the abstract submission page.

Keynote Speakers

  • Masaki Hayashi: Professor of Geoscience, University of Calgary; 2018 Henry Darcy Lecturer. 
  • Erin Hotchkiss: Assistant Professor of Biology, Virginia Tech. 
  • Cindy Paulson: Senior VP & Chief Technical Officer, Brown & Caldwell. 

Local Guest Speakers

  • Jennifer Back: National Wild & Scenic Rivers Program Co-Lead, NPS. 
  • Rebecca Barnes: Assistant Professor of Env. Science, Colorado College. 
  • Tzahi Cath: Professor of Engineering, Colorado School of Mines. 
  • Sheila Murphy: Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey. 
  • Sara Rathburn: Professor of Geology, Colorado State University. 
  • Mike SanClements: Scientist, National Ecological Observatory network.

CU Professor Guest Speakers

  • Katja Friedrich: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department. 
  • Eve-Lyn Hinckley: Environmental Studies Program. 
  • Joe Ryan: Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department. 

Hosted by

  • CWEST - Center for Water, Earth Science and Technology 
  • INSTAAR - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 

Participating Units

  • CU Graduate School
  • ATOC - Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 
  • CEAE - Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering 
  • EBIO - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 
  • ENVS - Environmental Studies 
  • GEOG - Geography 
  • GEOL - Geological Sciences 

2017

Collaboration and Connections:
Protecting and Restoring Water Resources

The 2017 Symposium will take place April 6-7, 2017

Hydroscience presentations by students, faculty, and Boulder-area researchers.  Keynotes and guest talks by distinguished scientists.

Location

SEEC Auditorium Room 120, CU Boulder East Campus

Abstracts

  • Submission opens 20 Feb, 2017.
  • Abstract deadline 10 Mar, 2017. 
  • Email hydrogrd@colorado.edu for a link to the abstract submission page.

Keynote Speakers

  • Jill Baron: Senior Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University - Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
    "Scaling Nitrogen Effects and Management Issues from Small Watersheds to the Globe: Towards an International Nitrogen Management System"
  • Laurel Larsen: Assistant Professor of Physical Geography, University of California, Berkeley
    "Unraveling Complexity from Two Directions: Hydroecological Systems Seen Through the Lenses of Modeling and Data"
  • Otto Strack: Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota
    "Application of Elementary Solutions in Groundwater Modeling"
  • Brad Udall: Senior Water and Climate Research Scientist/Scholar, Colorado State University - Colorado Water Institute
    "The Collision of 19th Century Water Law, 20th Century Water Infrastructure and 21st Century Climate Change: Navigating the New Realities"

Guest Speakers

  • Laura Belanger: Water Resources and Environmental Engineer, Western Resource Advocates
    "Engineering and the Environment: Informing and Influencing Policies and Projects"
  • Anne Castle: Senior Fellow, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment, University of Colorado, Boulder
    "The Colorado River: Where Water Scarcity Sparks Collaboration"
  • James Eklund: Director, Colorado Water Conservation Board
    "Implementing Colorado's Water Plan"

Participating Units

Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) - Center for Water, Earth Science and Technology (CWEST) - CU Graduate School - Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) - Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering (CEAE) - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO) - Environmental Studies (ENVS) -Geography (GEOG) - Geological Sciences (GEOL)

Who's Invited?

2 female students posing in front of research display

Theresa Denison (Centaurus High School), and Veronica Carrasco (Centaurus High School) pose with their science fair poster illustrating seasonal changes in the chemistry and redox state of dissolved organic matter, Nymph Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park. Their work was done under the mentorship of INSTAAR graduate student Rose Cory. Their project won several prizes in regional science fairs in spring 2004 including 1st place in the Earth and Space Science category at the Colorado-Wyoming Junior Academy of Science. They were invited to participate in the National Science Fair in Washington DC.

The Symposium is open to all CU-Boulder students (grad & undergrad) and faculty working in any aspect of hydrologic sciences, especially those doing interdisciplinary research (e.g. hydrogeology, hydroecology, aquatic biology, biogeochemistry, environmental and water resource engineering, etc.). We also invite hydroscience researchers in the Boulder area to submit an abstract (ie, USGS, NOAA, NCAR). Submitting a poster or talk that you have already presented at another conference is fine, as long as it does not violate an agreement you made with the other conference. Making a presentation of a collaborative study for which you are not first author is fine too, as long as you made a substantial contribution and are familiar with all aspects of the study.

More information

Abstracts should be no longer than 3000 characters (about 400 words). Up to three figures may be submitted. See the "" page for more details. Other questions? Email us at hydrogrd@colorado.edu

2016

11th Annual Hydrologic Sciences Student Research Symposium
March 31 and April 1, 2016
University Memorial Center

2016 Keynote Speakers

  • Matthew Cohen, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • Amy East, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA
  • Thomas Painter, Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
  • Robert Runkel, U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado Water Science Center, Denver, CO

Sponsors
Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering - Geography - Geological Sciences - Environmental Studies - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research - CU Graduate School

Many Thanks to
The planning committee: Anna Bergstrom, Jordan Carroll, Keith Jennings, and Christa Torrens
Faculty Advisors: Michael Gooseff and John Pitlick

 

Day 1 Talks - Thursday, March 31, 2016
9:00 Coffee & Muffins/Registration
9:45John
Pitlick		Welcome Address
10:00Peter
Shellito		Evaluation of SMAP soil moisture drying rates
10:20Daphne
Szutu		Linking sap flow and stable isotope techniques to understand transpiration dynamics in a semiarid shrubland
10:40Holly
Barnard 		Examining Diel Patterns of Soil and Xylem Moisture Using Electrical Resistivity Imaging
11:00Matthew
Cohen		Keynote address- A Sensor Driven Transformation in the Hydrologic Sciences: How New Tools are Enabling New Insights in Catchment and River Processes
12:00 Lunch/Poster Session (pizza and drinks provided)
1:00Mark
Schutte		Geomorphic Response of Fall River to the 2013 Flood
1:20Charles
Shobe		Big Blocks And River Incision: A Numerical Modeling Perspective
1:40Amy
East		Keynote address- Fluvial Response to Dam Removal: A Synthesis Perspective
2:40 20 min break
3:00Alia
Khan		Dissolved black carbon in Antarctic lakes: Chemical signatures of past and present sources
3:20Garrett
Rue		Chemostatic Cradle to Grave: Dissolved Organic Matter and the Biogeochemical Impacts of the 2013 Boulder Flood
3:40Kaelin
Cawley		Characterization and spatial distribution of particulate and soluble carbon and nitrogen from wildfire impacted sediments
4:00Robert
Runkel		Keynote address- Acid Mine Drainage In Colorado: A Wicked Problem With No End In Sight
5:00 End

 

Day 2 Talks - Friday, April 01, 2016
9:30 Coffee & Muffins/Registration
10:00Kelsey
Dailey		Groundwater's role in mitigating mountain water resource impacts from a changing climate: Geochemical insights from a subalpine, headwater catchment, Colorado, USA
10:20David
Barnard		Transpiration phenology along an elevational gradient in montane coniferous forests
10:40Theodore
Barnhart		Streamflow Sensitivity to Changes in Snowpack Across Trans-Basin Diversions
11:00Thomas
Painter		Keynote address- Entering a New Era of Water Science and Management: The Maturation of Snow Remote Sensing
12:00 Lunch and Panel Discussion
1:00Adam
Wlostowski		Continuous modeling of hyporheic exchange explains chemostasis in glacial meltwater streams, Antarctica
1:20Timothy
Clarkin		Exploring the effects of constraints on multiobjective evolutionary algorithm optimization efficiency and effectiveness in water resources
1:40Joseph
Kasprzyk		Many objective decision support for water and environmental problems under deep uncertainty
2:00 20 min break
2:20Dominik
Schneider		Estimating snow depth from observations of remotely-sensed snow covered area and the terrain's snow holding capacity
2:40Mark
Raleigh		Vulnerability of an operational snowmelt model to unusual snow conditions and melt drivers
3:00Andrew
Barrett		How much water do glaciers and snow cover contribute to runoff from High Mountain Asia
3:30 Student awards and closing
3:45 End

 

Poster Session - Thursday, March 31, 2016, 12:00 - 12:55

  1. Curtis Beutler: Insights on Snow Measurement Technique and Site Area Representation at Niwot Ridge from the 2016 Snow Hydrology Internship
  2. Eryan Dai: L-band Soil Moisture Mapping Using Small UnManned Aerial System
  3. Joshua Darling: Temperature Effects On The Growth Rates Of Diatoms From Streams In The McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
  4. Ursula Rick: Western Water Assessment: Innovative Research in Partnership with Decision Makers
  5. Sarah Evans: Effects of warming on groundwater flow in mountainous snowmelt-dominated catchments
  6. Harrison Gray: Modeling and observations of luminescence in river sediment from the US Mid-Atlantic Region: implications for obtaining sediment transport information
  7. Steven Henning: Dynamic response of watershed subsurface systems to extreme precipitation events - Implications for the 2013 Colorado Front Range Floods
  8. Alice Hill: Capturing hydrologic regime changes over regional scales: Lagrangian sampling and rapid hydro assessment methodologies
  9. Jenna Stewart: A physically based modeling framework for analyzing the effects of climate change and land-cover disturbance on suspended sediment transport in the Colorado Front Range
  10. Chris Williams: Data Analysis Methods for Measuring Impact of a Conservation-Focused Residential Irrigation Inspection Program
  11. Taylor Winchell: Early snowmelt decreases ablation period carbon uptake in a high elevation, subalpine forest, Niwot Ridge, Colorado, USA

2015

10th Annual Hydrologic Sciences Student Research Symposium

Water in Motion: The Role of an Irreplaceable Resource

April 2nd & 3rd, 2015
University Memorial Center

2015 Keynote Speakers

  • Andrew Fahlund, Deputy Director, California Water Foundation, Sacramento, CA
  • Dr. James Famiglietti, Professor of Earth Systems Science, University of California, Irvine and Senior Water Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Dr. Sally Thompson, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

Sponsors and Donors

  • Wilson Water Group
  • Corona Environmental Consulting

 

Day 1 Talks - Thursday, April 2, 2015
8:30 Coffee & Muffins/Registration
9:00Diane
McKnight 		Welcome Address
9:15Jeffrey
Rosen		Developing And Deploying A Dynamically Updated Source Water Assessment And Response Tool
9:30Eric
Small		Monitoring The Terrestrial Water Cycle With Reflected GPS Signals
9:45Ben
Livneh		Establishing Proximal Causes Of Soil Moisture Deficits Accompanying Great Plains Drought Development
10:00Eryan
Dai		L-band Soil Moisture Mapping using UAS for Validation of SMAP
10:15 Coffee Break
10:30Theodore
Barnhart		Sensitivity Of Hydrologic Partitioning To Snowpack Dynamics
10:45Dominik
Schneider		Establishing Transferable Sub-Pixel Relationships For Estimating Snow Depth From Remotely-Sensed Snow Covered Area And A DEM 
11:00Jay
Famiglietti		Keynote address: How The West Was Lost
12:00 Lunch/Poster Session (pizza and drinks provided)
1:00Karl
Rittger		Determining Snow And Ice Melt Contributions Using MODIS And A Temperature Index Melt Model In The Hunza River Basin
1:15Elizabeth
Houle		Inter-Model Diagnostics For Two Snow Models Across Multiple Western U.S. Locations And Implications For Management
1:30Garret
McKay		The Effect Of Temperature On The Quantum Yield Of Photochemical Hydroxyl Radical Production From Dissolved Organic Matter
1:45Aleah
Sommers		Inside The Ice: Insights From Thermo-Mechanically Coupled Modeling Of High-Elevation Regions Of The Greenland Ice Sheet
2:00 Sally
Thompson		Keynote address: Streams, Soils, Strategies And (Stressed Out?) Survivors - Ecohydrology In Seasonally Dry Climates
3:00 15 Minute Break
3:15Roseanna
Neupauer		Effects Of Time-Varying Streambed Hydraulic Properties On Stream Depletion
3:30Ellen
Wohl		The Brief, Tumultuous Life Of Logjams In Rocky Mountain National Park
3:45Alia
Khan		Biogeochemical Cycling Of Black Carbon In The Taylor Valley Of The McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
4:00Scott
Summers		U.S. EPA STAR National Center For Innovation In Small Drinking Water Systems
4:15Cameron
Bracken		A Spatial Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling Approach For Precipitation Extremes
4:30Arista
Hickman		Water Resource Engineering In Colorado: Evolution Of A Complex South Platte Operations And Planning Model

 

Day 2 Talks - Friday, April 3, 2015
9:00 Coffee & Muffins/Registration
9:30Hannah
Miller		Water/Rock Reactions In Oman Hyperalkaline Aquifers And Implications For Microbial Habitability
9:45Amy
Piscopo		Optimization Of Active Spreading Strategies To Remediate Contaminated Groundwater During In Situ Chemical Oxidation
10:00Jessica
Ebert		Evolution Of Dissolved Organic Matter Under A Perennially Ice Covered Lake, Antarctica
10:15 Coffee Break
10:30Andrew
Fahlund		Keynote address: Why Isn't Water Considered Valuable?
11:30Jorge
Figueroa		Water For A Brave New World: Commonsense Solutions For The Front Range Of Colorado
11:45Todd
Doherty		New Approaches For Protecting The Water-Dependent Natural Environment In Boulder Valley
12:00 Lunch, Panel Discussion, and Break
1:15Kelsey
Cody		Explaining Variability In Performance And Collective Action In Self-Governed Irrigation Systems Under Climate Change: The Case Of The San Luis Valley Of Colorado
1:30Lauren
Tomkinson		The Center For Water, Earth Science And Technology (CWEST)
1:45Kathleen
Miller		An Approach For Assessing The Drought-Resilience Of Colorado's Transbasin Water Diversions
2:00Abigail
Watson		Incorporating Deeply Uncertain Factors Into The Many Objective Search Process: Improving Adaptation To Environmental Change
2:15 15 Minute Break
2:30 Student Awards and Closing
2:45 End of Symposium

Poster Session - Thursday, April 2nd, 2015, 12:00 - 12:55

  1. Sarah Evans: Characterization Of Groundwater Storage In The Heihe Headwater Watershed, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China
  2. Mehran Ghandehari: Density-Based Stream Network Extraction From Digital Elevation Models
  3. Alice Hill: Characterizing The Role And Controls Of Snowmelt In Alpine Groundwater Recharge
  4. Josh Jones: Examination Of Storm Cycles In A Rocky Mountain Subalpine Snowpack Using d18O Analysis And Seasonal Snow Pit Data
  5. Simon Mostafa: Photochemical Inactivation Of E. Faecalis In The Presence Of Organic Matter
  6. Mark Raleigh: Which Forcing Data Errors Matter Most When Modeling Seasonal Snowpack?
  7. Carleigh Samson: Modeling the Impact of Climate Change on TOC Threshold Exceedances for Meeting DBP Regulations
  8. Peter Shellito: Soil Hydraulic Properties Modeled From Meter To Kilometer Scales Based On In Situ And SMOS Soil Moisture Data
  9. Bill Szafranski: Simulation Of Daily Flow Data Using A Stochastic Nonparametric Model (K-Nearest Neighbor)
  10. Matthew Weingarten: High-Rate Injection Is Associated With The Increase In U.S. Mid-Continent Seismicity
  11. Alana Wilson: Age And Origin Of Waters: What Hydrogen And Oxygen Isotopes In A Glacierized Catchment Can Tell Us
  12. Qinghuan Zhang: Hydrologic Simulations In Two Subcatchments Of The Boulder Creek Watershed

Sponsors
Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering - Geography - Geological Sciences - Environmental Studies - Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research - CU Graduate School

Many Thanks To
The planning committee: Alice Hill, Kelsey Dailey, Taylor Winchell, Nora Catolico, Mandi Hohner, Caitlin Glover, Peter Shellito, and Kaelin Cawley
Faculty Advisors: John Pitlick and Diane McKnight

Student Prizes Donated by
Wilson Water Group
Corona Environmental Consulting

Prior Schedules

To get a sense of past symposia, you can look at our  and 

2014

9th Annual Hydrologic Sciences Student Research Symposium

Water: Our Global Solvent

April 3rd & 4th, 2014
University Memorial Center

2014 Keynote Speakers

  • , Professor, Sierra Nevada Research Institute, University of California Merced
  • , Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Arizona
  • , Assistant Professor, Geological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University

Sponsors and Donors

  • Boulder area consulting firm,  Consulting, sponsors the student awards. 
  • CU departments, GEOG, GEOL, ENVS, and CEAE, contributed funds to cover the costs of the symposium. 
  • INSTAAR and the Graduate School provide financial support for the Hydrologic Sciences Program.
Day 1 Talks - Thursday, April 3rd, 2014
9:00 Coffee & Muffins/Registration
9:15 Welcome Address
9:30Jeff Writer & 
Sheila Murphy		Temporal and Spatial Controls on Post-Wildfire Water Quality in the Colorado Front Range
10:00Eryan  
Dai		L-band Soil Moisture Mapping using UAS for Validation and Calibration of SMAP
10:15Amy  
Piscopo		Multi-Objective Optimization of Engineered Injection and Extraction to Enhance In Situ Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater
10:30Joe  
Ryan		Fate and Transport of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Organic Compounds
10:45 15 Minute Break
11:00Stephen 
Osborn		Keynote Address: Water Quality and Natural Gas Production: A Tale of Two Shales 
12:00 Lunch/Poster Session (Free pizza and Drinks)
1:15John  
Knowles		The Relative Contributions of Alpine and Subalpine Ecosystems to the Water Balance of a Headwater Catchment
1:30Margaret  
Burns		Variability of Hillslope Dissolved Organic Matter Transport and Transformation in a Semi-arid Catchment
1:45Hallie  
Adams		Linking Topography, Hydrology, Climate, and Ecology in Semiarid Forests: Within Catchment Annual Tree Growth and Water Use Efficiency
2:00Erin  
Berryman		Terrain Modulates Hydrological Couplings with Soil Respiration within the Boulder Creek Drainage
2:15 15 Minute Break
2:30Cameron  
Bracken		Seasonal Variability of Western US Extreme Precipitation
2:45Robert  
Brakenridge		Satellite Measurements of River Discharge and Runoff 
3:00Martyn  
Clark		Science to support water resource planning and management: Understanding sensitivity to climate change and improving hydroclimatic monitoring and prediction products
3:15 15 Minute Break
3:30Kelsey  
Cody 		Emergence of Collective Action in a Groundwater Commons: Irrigators in the San Luis Valley of Colorado
3:45Douglas  
Kenney		Empowering Municipal Water Utilities to Pursue Aggressive Conservation Programs
4:00Ken  
Neubecker		A 21st Century paradigm for rivers and water in the West: adding ethics and biology to an engineering solution
4:15Yilma  
Seleshi		Nile Hydrology and Ethiopian Dams, Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a case study
4:30 End of Day

 

Day 2 Talks - Friday, April 4th, 2014
8:30 Coffee & Muffins/Registration
9:00Hari  
Rajaram		Enlargement of Englacial Conduits in Cold Ice - Verification of Basic Theory Against Simple Experiments, and Some New Insights
9:15Aleah  
Sommers		Temperature and Velocity Profiles Inferred By Thermal Flowline Modeling for High Elevation Regions of the Greenland Ice Sheet
9:30Adrian  
Harpold		Evaluating the Importance of Snowmelt Infiltration to Soil Water Availability Across Western U.S. Mountain Ecosystems
9:45Ryan  
Utz		The National Ecological Observatory Network: An Update on Construction Progress and Introduction to the STReams Experimental Observatory Network (STREON)
10:00Alana  
Wilson		Using hydrochemistry data to constrain the role of snow and ice meltwater in the hydrology of Langtang Valley, Nepal
10:15Jim  
Prairie		Facilitating water supply and demand planning efforts in the Colorado River Basin
10:30Eric  
Gordon		Making Science Relevant: How Hydroclimate Research Gets Integrated Into Decision Making
10:45John  
Carron		Hydros Consulting Inc., Background and Operation
10:50 10 minute break
11:00Rogers 
Bales		Keynote Address: Mountain Hydrology, Forest Management and Water Security in the Sierra Nevada
12:00 Lunch Round Table (Free sandwiches and Drinks)
1:00 15 minute break
1:15Bonnie 
Colby		Keynote Address: â€œDrought-Proofing” Regional Water Supplies - How Effective Can We Be?
2:15Andrea  
Sack		An isotopic perspective on water and carbon sources in complex geochemical setting of the Appalachians
2:30 15 minute break
2:45Emily  
Graham		The Role of Dissolved Organic Matter in Mercury Methylation in the Duluth-Superior Port
3:00Julie  
Korak 		Fluorescence Spectroscopy As An Indicator For Cyanobacteria Organic Matter Release By Oxidation Processes/td>
3:15Hannah  
Miller		Low temperature H2 production and habitability of serpentine aquifers
3:30Farrokh  
Shoaei 		The Importance Of Instantaneous Flow Structures to Total Mixing And Reaction Of Gamete Filaments In Broadcast Spawning
3:45 Student Awards and Closing
4:15  End of Symposium 
Start of Happy Hour

Poster Session - Thursday, April 3rd, 2014, 12:00 - 1:15p

  1. Henry Brandes: Evaluating the effects of precipitation and wind speed on snow water equivalence along an elevation gradient using 30 years of LTER snow-pit data
  2. Benjamin Castellani: Comparing the Annual Pattern of Snowfall and Accumulation at Summit, Greenland
  3. Clara Chew: Surface soil moisture estimations using GPS-Interferometric Reflectometry: error sources and sensing limits
  4. Steven Crisp: Quantifying long-term geomorphological change in Dry Valley streams: integrating survey data with subsequent LiDAR surveys
  5. Rachel Gabor: More than just the sum of the catchment: In-stream processing of water-soluble soil organic matter
  6. Amanda Hohner: Assessing wildfire impacted source water quality and treatability in the Cache la Poudre watershed through monitoring and a lab-based leaching study
  7. John Meyer: Characterizing fire impacted dissolved organic matter (DOM) before and after coagulation treatment
  8. Brett Poulin: Mercury transformation and release dynamics under saturation conditions in contaminated riparian soils
  9. Mark Raleigh: Spatial and interannual variability of snow interception in coniferous forest canopies
  10. Garrett Rue: Increasing ARD and rare earth metal concentrations in an alpine watershed
  11. Dominik Schneider: Combining remotely-sensed snow water equivalent with in-situ measurements to produce a real-time SWE product
  12. Brooke Stamper: Drier Soils in a Warming World? Examining the Relationship Between Soil-Water Stress and Snow Persistence in the Mountain West

Sponsors
Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering • Geography • Geological Sciences • Environmental Studies • Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research • CU Graduate School

Many Thanks to:
The planning committee: Jessica Dehart, Daniel Broman, Ben Livneh, Christopher Florian, Kaelin Cawley, Theodore Barnhart, Garrett Rue, and Elizabeth Koebele for organizing the symposium. Faculty Advisors: John Pitlick and Diane McKnight for advising.

Students Prizes Donated by:
AMEC Earth & Environmental is AMEC’s full-service engineering, environmental, and construction management division. AMEC’s Colorado offices have provided quality water resources management services throughout the state of Colorado since 1983. Our Colorado offices are staffed with civil/drainage/water resources engineers, water system and hydrologic modelers, geoscientists, environmental scientists, planners, and GIS and CAD specialists. These specialists form multi-disciplinary teams to unlock value for our clients. Our success is built upon maintaining the “best in industry staff”, providing technical innovation, and delivery of cost effective solutions.

2013

Keynote Speakers:

11am Monday 
Dr. Dennis Lettenmaier: Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington-Seattle

4pm Monday March 18th 
Dr. Patty Limerick: Faculty Director and Chair of the Board, Center of the American West, Professor of History, University of Colorado-Boulder

2:30pm Tuesday March 19th 
Dr. Patrick Belmont, Assisstant Professor, Watershed Sciences, Utah State University

Day 1 Talks - Monday March 18, 2013

10:30

 

Coffee & Muffins/Registration

 

10:45

 

Welcome Address

 

11:00 -12:00

 

Dennis
Lettenmaier*

 

Climate change and the water resources of the western U.S. 

 

12:00 - 1:45

 

Lunch/Poster Session (Free Pizza and Drinks)

 

1:45-2:00

 

Sabre  
Duren

 

Wetland Photochemistry as a Major Control on the Transport of Metals in an Acid Mine Drainage Impacted Watershed 

 

2:00-2:15

 

Jessica  
Ebert

 

Modeling Microbial Contributions to Dissolved Organic Matter Using Parallel Factor Analysis 

 

2:15-2:30

 

Tyler  
Kohler

 

Hydrologic controls on microbial mat communities in the McMurdo Dry Valley streams of Antarctica 

 

15 minute break

 

2:45 - 3:00

 

Stephanie  
Higgins

 

Land subsidence at aquaculture facilities in the Yellow River Delta, China 

 

3:00 - 3:15

 

Keli  
Goodman

 

The Aquatic Program at the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) 

 

15 minute break

 

3:30 - 4:00

 

Justice Gregory
Hobbs

 

Into the Grand, the Four Corners of History, Poetry, The Law and Judging 

 

4:00-5:00

 

Patty
Limerick*

 

A Ditch in Time: The City, the West, and Water 

 

6:00 Dinner at Diane McKnight's house

 

 

 

Day 2 Talks - Tuesday, March 18, 2013
   

9:00

 

Coffee & Muffins/Registration

 

9:15 - 9:30

 

Pablo  
Mendoza

 

Towards a better understanding of hydrologic sensitivity to climate change: impact of hydrologic model choices 

 

9:30 - 9:45

 

Naoki  
Mizukami

 

Impact of Different Large-scale Hydrologic Model Forcing Data on Hydrologic Simulations over Mountainous Regions 

 

9:45 - 10:00

 

Leif  
Anderson

 

The effects of interannual climate variability on paleoclimate estimates derived from glacial moraines 

 

15 minute break

 

10:00 - 10:15

 

Darren  
Larsen

 

Asynchronous Little Ice Age Glacier Fluctuations in Iceland and Europe linked to subpolar North Atlantic circulation 

 

10:30- 10:45

 

Brian  
Macpherson

 

Enthalpy-Based Models for Ice Sheets and Improving Understanding of Cryo-Hydrologic Warming 

 

10:45 - 11:00

 

Benjamin  
Hudson

 

Estimating Freshwater Discharge from the Greenland Ice Sheet with MODIS 

 

15 minute break

 

11:15-11:30

 

Laura  
Snider

 

What is Newsworthy in Scientific Research? Perspectives from the CU Communications Office 

 

11:30-12:00

 

Tom  
Yulsman

 

Running Dry: Water and Journalism Both? 

 

12:00 - 1:00

 

Lunch Round Table (Free sandwiches and Drinks)

 

1:00 -1:15

 

Amy  
Piscopo

 

Many-Objective Design of Engineered Injection and Extraction Sequences to Optimize In Situ Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater 

 

1:15 - 1:30

 

Gregory  
Lackey

 

Varying Stream Channel Conductance and its Effects on Stream Depletion Estimations 

 

1:30 - 1:45

 

Warangkana
Larbkich

 

Introduction Of Solute Age To Assess Aquifer Vulnerability And Direct Simulation Of Mean Groundwater Age 

 

10 minute break 

 

1:55 - 2:10

 

Jessica  
Dehart

 

Fate and Transport of 8 Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Organic Compounds 

 

2:10 - 2:25

 

Michael
Fitch

 

Hydraulic Fracturing Water Usage: Activist Perceptions and the Controversial Technique 

 

5 minute break 

 

2:30 - 3:30

 

Patrick
Belmont*

 

Landscape Erosion and Sediment Routing Under Non-stationary Hydrologic Conditions 

 

3:30

 

Student Prizes Awarded

 

4:00 Happy Hour for students and invited speakers  (At the Med)

 

Posters

  1. Daniel Broman: Climatic Variability of the West African Monsoon and its Influence on Meningococcal Meningitis Susceptibility
  2. Logan Callihan: Robust Decision Strategies for Climate Change Assessment
  3. Kelsey Cody: Climate Change, Growth, and Regional Integration: Lessons for Municipal and Industrial Water Providers
  4. Lianne Daugherty: Application of Stochastic Weather Generator based Seasonal Ensemble Streamflow Forecasts to Water Resources Management
  5. Brian Ebel: Wildfire and hillslope aspect impacts on subsurface hydrologic response
  6. Solomon Erkyihun: Modeling Large Scale Climate Indicators Using Wavelet-based Time Series Method
  7. Sarah Evans: Sensing Vegetation Growth and Senescence with Reflected GPS Signals
  8. Shahen Huda: Modeling the Effects of Bed Topography on Fluvial Erosion by Saltating Bed Load 
  9. Roseanna Neupauer: An Adjoint Approach to Estimating Stream Depletion
  10. Nadine Reitman: 3D modeling of groundwater flow and solute transport in a watershed underlain by salt deposits in southeast Utah
  11. Dominik Schneider: A regression-based approach for blending remotely sensed and in-situ snow water equivalent estimates in the Colorado River Basin
  12. Robert Semborski: Small Scale Spatial Variations Within the Snowpack on Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research Site
  13. Eli Townsend: Correlating the spectroscopic properties of organic matter to the photochemical formation of hydroxyl radical in natural waters
  14. Julia Traylor: Optimal Initial Configuration of Treatment Solution for In Situ Remediation with Engineered Injection and Extraction in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Aquifers
  15. Yanto Yanto: Investigating ENSO Signal in Ciliwung Streamflow Variability, Jakarta, Indonesia

Sponsors
Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering • Geography • Geological Sciences • Environmental Studies • Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research • CU Graduate School

Many thanks to:
The planning committee: Sara Tabatabaie, Bill Szafranski, Ben Livneh, Katya Hafich, Kaelin Cawley, Rebecca Smith, Abby Kuranz, Rachel Gabor, Logan Callihan, Brian Buma, and Andy Wickert for organizing the symposium.
Faculty Advisors: John Pitlick, and Diane McKnight for advising.

Student Prizes Donated by:
AMEC Earth & Environmental is AMEC’s full-service engineering, environmental, and construction management division. AMEC’s Colorado offices have provided quality water resources management services throughout the state of Colorado since 1983. Our Colorado offices are staffed with civil/drainage/water resources engineers, water system and hydrologic modelers, geoscientists, environmental scientists, planners, and GIS and CAD specialists. These specialists form multi-disciplinary teams to unlock value for our clients. Our success is built upon maintaining the “best in industry staff”, providing technical innovation, and delivery of cost effective solutions.

 

2012

2012 Keynote Speakers

  • , Senior Research Hydrologist at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
  • , Assistant Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa 
  • , Professor of Zoology and Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin

2011

Summary Schedule 2011

Thursday, March 31 (UMC Aspen Rooms, 2nd floor)

10:30 Welcome/Registration

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